“You got a haircut!”

Um, yes. I did get a haircut. Thank you for pointing out this fact to me and then not actually saying whether or not you like my haircut.

“Oh, you’re wearing makeup today!”

Why yes, I am. No, my eyelids are not usually lined in charcoal black. Any thoughts? No?

“Wow that outfit is so interesting!”

Seriously? Do you even hear yourself? Bad interesting or good interesting?

So goes the painful process of receiving compliments (?) and dodging those who don’t know how to give them. Don’t be the person who makes someone else question their whole appearance just because you don’t know how to phrase your nicety. Follow these simple steps to becoming an A+ complimenter. It’s as easy as one, two, three.

1. Be genuine.
Don’t compliment something if you don’t actually like it. Complimenting things just for the sake of it rarely works out in the complementors favor, simply because it’s too easy to see a disingenuous smile. If you can’t find anything nice to say, don’t say it. Simply walk past the poor, un-complementable being and go on your way.

2. Say why you like it.
“Wow, your shirt really brings out the color of your eyes!” or “Those shoes give you great height!” are both great examples. Not “Wow your shirt is so green!” or “Those shoes have huge heels!”. Both of the latter give a sense of dodging around saying whether or not you actually like the thing.

3. Smile after you say it.
You know what they say, a smile says a thousand words! Let the object of your praise know you mean business by flashing them your pearly whites.

There you have it. Go test out your new skills on your friends. Money-back guarantee if you don’t get a smile in return.